SCIENTIFIC DOMAINS

Energy
Fundamental Physics
High Energy Physics

Key words: Fundamental Studies, Isotopes Production, Nuclear Medicine Development, Fuel Elements Testing, Construction Materials Testing, Testing of New Equipment and Nuclear Technologies of Generation IV, Solutions for Closing of Fuel Cycle.

SCIENTIFIC GOALS

The main goal is to develop and implement next-generation nuclear energy systems

FACILITIES

To provide irradiation experiments, the reactor facility is designed with the following necessary equipment and instrumentation:

• pick-and-place mechanisms and machines for loading and reloading experimental devices and loop facilities;

• stands for washing and storing various kinds of experimental devices and loop facilities with controlled temperature conditions;

• research stands in the spent fuel pool for detecting fuel cladding failure and for carrying out tests simulating conditions of deteriorating heat dissipation.

• research safety hot cells with equipment and facilities for assembly and disassembly of irradiation devices, as well as for initial investigations (geometrical measurements of irradiated samples, filming and photography, gamma scanning, measurements of corrosion thickness).

CHALLENGES

• to develop and implement next-generation nuclear energy systems;

• to provide support for the development of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing technologies for closing the nuclear fuel cycle and technologies for disposal of radioactive and nuclear materials at the new multifunctional radiochemical complex under construction;

• to provide support for the development of methods for regenerated fuel fabrication, fuel element fabrication and for the development of control methods, including control of fuel assembly fabrication;

• to provide support for scientific and technological activities in the field of reactor materials science by means of research reactors, post-irradiation examination of reactor materials and core components of innovative nuclear reactors;

• to provide support for the development of new technologies for production of radionuclides to be used as various sources of ionizing radiation for industrial and medical purposes;

• to provide support for the introduction of results received from the research and development of nuclear fuel, structural and absorbing materials into innovative products and technologies of fuel elements and fuel assemblies, absorbing elements, CPS rods, radionuclide-based sources and medications.

PARTNERSHIP PROPOSAL

IRC MBIR is already actively functioning as an international scientific platform for exchange of knowledge, expertise, best practices among the scientists from around the globe. The main scientific body of Consortium IRC MBIR, Advisory Board, holds it plenary meetings once a year (in 2022 it was held on July 12-13 in Dimitrovgrad), but apart from that, there are
5 special committees on different areas of nuclear science which meet on a permanent basis (1. Materials and fuel research; 2. Safety of use of nuclear technologies; 3. Code validation; 4. Non-energetic application of nuclear technologies; 5. Closing of nuclear fuel cycle). All interested organizations are welcome to join these scientific activities on a free of charge basis and within up to 1,5-year time study the possible benefits from the full-scale joining the Consortium IRC MBIR and conducting research on MBIR reactor (after 1,5-year period the participants who are not eventually joining the Consortium are subjects to rotation).

Participation in the IRC MBIR Consortium at the current stage opens up for the members a mechanism to access the reactor resource for the entire period of reactor operation, creates preferential prices for irradiation of materials in the reactor’s core, provides an opportunity to participate in the work of all its governing bodies and also presents options to introduce changes into the configuration of the research equipment and participate in the international research program development. Thus, joining the Consortium at the investment stage (before 2026) gives the participants a chance to obtain the maximum of economic and scientific benefits from working at the MBIR reactor.

Pool of IRC MBIR’s foreign partners includes organizations from more than 20 following countries: Uzbekistan, China, Algeria, Armenia, India, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Brazil, Egypt, UAE, Republic of Korea, Argentina, Turkey and several others. One of the key partners of IRC MBIR is Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR). Negotiations on the terms of joining the Consortium IRC MBIR as a Principal or Associated member are going on with all the partners. The most advanced stage has been reached with Uzbekistan, JINR and China. There are 15 experts from 13 foreign and international organizations who have joined the Advisory Board of the Consortium (scientific body) and got engaged in the activities on the international platform on the basis of MBIR. Alongside with the progress in implementation of the project and activization of scientific discussions the number of foreign partners of the project keeps increasing.